The Natural Capital Value of the Seagrass Posidonia oceanica in the North-Western Mediterranean

Rigo, Ilaria; Paoli, Chiara; Dapueto, Giulia; Pergent-Martinì, Christine; Pergent, Gérard; Oprandi, Alice; Montefalcone, Monica; Bianchi, Carlo Nike; Morri, Carla; Vassallo, Paolo

doi:10.3390/d13100499

Cited by 20 publications

(10 citation statements)

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“…Seagrasses-marine flowering plants forming submerged meadows up to 40 m deep-and especially the endemic and most common species in the basin Posidonia oceanica-have been the bioengineers of this structurally complex seascape framework for millennia (Arnaud-Haond et al, 2012). Covering less than 2% of the total Mediterranean seabed, the P. oceanica seagrass meadows provide a plethora of ecosystem services valued between 57,000 to 184,000 €/ ha/year (Paoli et al, 2018;Rigo et al, 2021) and are globally significant carbon sinks, with greater organic carbon density than the observed one in estuarine mangroves, peatlands or tropical forests (IUCN, 2021). The large efficiency of such vegetated coastal ecosystems in absorbing and storing carbon, and thus reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration, has led to initiatives to include them in climate change mitigation strategies like REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) (Duarte et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatially Explicit Seagrass Extent Mapping Across the Entire Mediterranean

et al. 2022

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The seagrass Posidonia oceanica is the main habitat-forming species of the coastal Mediterranean, providing millennial-scale ecosystem services including habitat provisioning, biodiversity maintenance, food security, coastal protection, and carbon sequestration. Meadows of this endemic seagrass species represent the largest carbon storage among seagrasses around the world, largely contributing to global blue carbon stocks. Yet, the slow growth of this temperate species and the extreme projected temperature and sea-level rise due to climate change increase the risk of reduction and loss of these services. Currently, there are knowledge gaps in its basin-wide spatially explicit extent and relevant accounting, therefore accurate and efficient mapping of its distribution and trajectories of change is needed. Here, we leveraged contemporary advances in Earth Observation—cloud computing, open satellite data, and machine learning—with field observations through a cloud-native geoprocessing framework to account the spatially explicit ecosystem extent of P. oceanica seagrass across its full bioregional scale. Employing 279,186 Sentinel-2 satellite images between 2015 and 2019, and a human-labeled training dataset of 62,928 pixels, we mapped 19,020 km2 of P. oceanica meadows up to 25 m of depth in 22 Mediterranean countries, across a total seabed area of 56,783 km2. Using 2,480 independent, field-based points, we observe an overall accuracy of 72%. We include and discuss global and region-specific seagrass blue carbon stocks using our bioregional seagrass extent estimate. As reference data collections, remote sensing technology and biophysical modelling improve and coalesce, such spatial ecosystem extent accounts could further support physical and monetary accounting of seagrass condition and ecosystem services, like blue carbon and coastal biodiversity. We envisage that effective policy uptake of these holistic seagrass accounts in national climate strategies and financing could accelerate transparent natural climate solutions and coastal resilience, far beyond the physical location of seagrass beds.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatially Explicit Seagrass Extent Mapping Across the Entire Mediterranean

et al. 2022

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“…In fact, it has been shown that predators have a positive impact on their prey, directly or indirectly (see the Healthy Herd Hypothesis) [40]. In a way, the modern concept of ecosystem services (e.g., [46][47][48][49][50][51][52]) fits into the logic of the human-centred approach to nature, though it is much more complex and integrated. The integrated management of man and nature throughout the application of the theories of natural capital and ecosystem services could even be considered as a fourth level of management.…”

Section: The Three Steps In the Approaches To Biodiversity Management 21 The Human-centred Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biodiversity Management in a Mediterranean National Park: The Long, Winding Path from a Species-Centred to an Ecosystem-Centred Approach

Boudouresque

Barcelo²,

Blanfuné

et al. 2021

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The Port-Cros National Park (PCNP), established in 1963, was one of the earliest terrestrial and marine parks in the Mediterranean Sea. From 2012, it engaged in a major redefinition and extension of its territory (N-PCNP—New Port-Cros National Park). This case is particularly interesting insofar as the protected area has been competently and efficiently managed since its creation, and protection and management measures have been strictly implemented: in the Mediterranean, the PCNP has often been considered as a benchmark. Here, we critically analyse almost 60 years of the management of the biodiversity and the human uses, with their share of successes and failures, certain operations which are today regarded as errors, and a doctrine today of a priori non-interventionism, in contrast to the doctrine in vogue in the early years. Of particular interest is the change in outlook with regard to actions favouring flagship species, such as building a tower for bats, setting up artificial nests for seabirds, and constructing an artificial reef at sea. The question of the natural arrival of the wild boar, a native species, and the hostility of the public and some species-centred scientists, is particularly instructive. We analyse these changes in the light of the ongoing trends in concepts in ecology and nature conservation, and the shift from a species-centred to an ecosystem-centred approach. It is worth emphasizing that a critical review of almost 60 years of management is a very rare exercise in a national park anywhere in the world.

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“…The area covered by P. oceanica in coastal areas is estimated between 22 000 and 23 000 km 2 (Pergent-Martini et al, 2020;Traganos et al, 2022), making it one of the most important carbon sinks of the Mediterranean Sea (Pergent et al, 2012). Despite providing crucial ecosystem services (Vassallo et al, 2013;Bryan et al, 2016;Rigo et al, 2021), there is no doubt that P. oceanica has strongly declined in Mediterranean notably near the most anthropized areas like major harbours (e.g., Barcelona, Marseille, Genoa, Naples) (Boudouresque et al, 2021;Telesca et al, 2015). This global regression is mainly related to anthropogenic pressure (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%